Nick Aguilar of Frankie and the Witch Fingers and Slaughterhouse is a vinyl maniac! Today we discuss his collection, his obsession, the rarities and a life of music & record collecting.
Topics Include:
- Nick Aguilar plays drums in multiple bands including Frankie and the Witch Fingers
- Currently focusing mainly on Frankie due to busy touring schedule ahead
- Extensive tour dates planned through end of year across US and Europe
- Considers himself a music fan first, musician second since childhood
- Dad played tapes during Nick's colic as baby, introducing classic rock
- Father went to San Pedro High School with future Minutemen members
- Dad chose commercial fishing over music after graduation in 1976
- San Pedro's shipping port culture shaped the local music scene
- Nick has surpassed his dad's music knowledge over the years
- Started collecting at age 11 when neighbor gave away record collection
- First records included Rolling Stones "Some Girls" and Led Zeppelin "Physical Graffiti"
- Still regrets not taking Buzzcocks "Singles Going Steady" from that collection
- Casual collecting through school, seriously ramped up after high school graduation
- Pandemic period 2020-2022 massively accelerated his collecting and cataloging habits
- Taught himself DJing during lockdown to play records for people
- Discovered new genres like soul, funk, kraut rock through deep diving
- Got lucky buying expensive records cheap before current inflated market
- Focuses on 45s and 12-inches that work well for DJing
- Extreme organization needed to juggle multiple bands, touring, collecting, DJing
- Record store strategy: always hit new arrivals section first
- Holy grail wants include The Litter and James Knight records
- Uses both Discogs hunting and in-person digging at stores
- Thrift store finds getting much rarer as market knowledge spreads
- Appreciates reissue labels like Numero Group for discovering rare music
- Limited record shopping time while touring due to tight schedules
- Favorite shops include Breakaway in Austin and Academy in NYC
- Most expensive purchase: Helen Smith soul record for $2,900 on credit
- Most sentimental record: The Frighteners, reminds him of deceased friend
- Keeps multiple copies of key records for DJing versus home listening
- Band creates multiple vinyl variants through their Greenway Records label
See Frankie and the Witch Fingers and order their vinyl here.
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
